Florida Friday; the Great 2012 Florida Trip Part 1 the Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Throughout my entire life I've had interactions with the state of Florida. I had family around the Pensacola and Tampa areas, our family took trips down to the state from the Mid-West to theme parks in the 1980s/90s, and of course there was racing as well. Back in late 2012 the economy was still hurting in Arizona and I was getting ready to make the move to Florida. Before I moved to Florida, I took a long trip to the southern half of the state to get a lay of the land which is what this blog is about. I have a ton of stuff sitting in albums from 2012 to 2016 which I figure would make for a decent Friday topic, or "Florida Friday."

Upon arriving in Florida I wanted to go out and see some of the sites that I wanted to always check out on the road. The first was the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay which carries US 19/I-275.

The current Skyway Bridge is a 4.14 mile cable stayed design which opened in 1987. The new Skyway Bridge is 430 feet tall in the center span with a 180 foot clearance for ships to pass through.

The original Skyway Bridge opened in 1954 which extended US 19 across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg to US 41 in Memphis. The original Skyway Bridge was a two-lane cantilever design which was expanded upon when a second span opened directly west of it in 1971 to upgrade it Interstate standards. By 1973 I-275 was multiplexed over the original Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay. In 1980 a freighter hit the 1971 bridge which was serving southbound US 19/I-275 traffic which resulted in 35 people being killed when the structure fell into the waters of Tampa Bay. By 1993 six years after the new Skyway Bridge was completed the 1954 and 1971 spans were partially demolished. Parts of the 1954 and 1971 spans of the old Skyway Bridge are now part of the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers on both ends of Tampa Bay.

I stopped at the southern piers to check out the 1954 and 1971 bridge structures which is where I took my photos of the new span from.

Despite the Skyway Bridge being a toll road there is plenty of reassurance shields about reminding you that you are on US 19/I-275.

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Where the hell is Hill Valley? (US Route 8 south/US Route 395 east)

Recently I made a visit to Universal Studios near Los Angeles. While on the back lot tour I came across a piece of infamous movie-borne fictional highway infamy; the location of town square of Hill Valley, California on US Route 8/US Route 395. The above photo is part of the intro scene to the first Back-to-the-Future movie which was set in 1985. To anyone who follows roadways the signage error of US 8 meeting US 395 in California is an immediately notable error. For one; US 8 doesn't even exist anywhere near California with present alignment being signed as an east/west highway between Norway, Michigan and Forest Lake, Minnesota. To make matters worse US 8 is signed as a southbound route and US 395 (a north/south highway) is signed as an eastbound route. At minimum the cut-out US 8 and US 395 shields somewhat resemble what Caltrans used in the 1980s. Assuming Hill Valley is located on what would have been US 395 by 1985 what locales would be a viable real world analog?

The Vague Original Southern Terminus of US Route 91 in the Californian Mojave Desert

One of the more intriguing mysteries of the early US Route System in California is where the original south terminus of US Route 91 was intended to be located in the Mojave Desert. This blog is a little different than my usual behind the wheel fare and explores why US Route 91 ultimately ended at US Route 66 in Daggett instead of Bannock. What ultimately became the US Route System was first discussed during the American Association of State Highway Officials ("AASHO") during their annual 1924 meeting. Ultimately the AASHO recommended to the Department of Agriculture to work with the States to develop a system of Interstate Highways to replace the many Auto Trails in use. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways was ultimately commissioned by the Department of Agriculture and it's branch agency the Bureau of Public Roads in March of 1925. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways first met in April of 1925 and decided on the new interstate road network would be known a

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times. While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways. The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route." This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it. The Ridge Route is a 44 mile section of highway which was completed in 1915. The Ridge Route originally stretched from Castaic Junction north over Liebre Summit and Tejon Pass to the tiny community of Grapevine. In spite of a roadway that once utilized nearly 700 curves the Ridge Route is generally considered far ahead of it's time and one of the first modern highways constructed for automotive use.

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